The Last Tree Town (2020)
By Beth Turley
4Rbooks 4/6 grades 6-8
Amazon 4.7/5 grade level 4-7
Goodreads 4.09/5
Common Sense Media not yet reviewed
262 pages
Synopsis
Cassi is going into 7th grade and gets some good news on the first day. Her test scores in math have qualified her for the Math Olympics team. She needs some good news. Her family has had to put her Buelo into a facility and her sister Daniella, who just started high school, has become distant and doesn’t talk to her as much as she used to.
She still has her friends Jac and Ben, and she meets a new boy on the Math Olympics team named Aaron. She learns that he has been traveling with his dad and this is the fifth “tree town” he has lived in. He calls them tree towns because the name of a tree has been a part of the town name, like Mapleton where they now live. Cassi enjoys Aaron’s stories about all the different towns.
The school year progresses and the children work their way through a variety of school and personal issues. In particular, Cassi tries to bring some joy back into her sister’s life and hopes they can have the relationship they once had. She learns much from the Math Olympic team, more than just the numbers. She also starts to experience feelings and emotions that are new, exciting, and slightly scary.
Parental Guidelines: medium
Daniella is suffering from depression.
Cassi has an identity crisis because she doesn’t look like a typical Puerto
Rican.
Jac acts out because she’s uncomfortable with her divorced dad dating.
Aaron and is father have been moving all the time because his dad is hoping to
find Aaron’s mother who walked out of their life and disappeared.
Buelo (Cassi and Daniella’s grandfather) is suffering from dementia.
Daniella has an emotional breakdown in a classroom.
7th grader Cassi goes to a high school party with her sister and ends up playing
spin-the-bottle. She goes to a closet with a boy but nothing happens.
Cassi gets bullied by a girl on the Math Olympics team.
Cassi sneaks into Daniella’s room and reads her diary.
Daniella eventually sees a counselor.
Recommendation
I remember having a discussion with a friend once about a church we were both familiar with. He stated, “They do angst well.” That was my feeling reading this book. Everyone has a problem and everyone is stressing over their particular problem. It’s a well-written coming of age story, but a heavy one. I think this book will resonate with many readers who may be going through similar issues, but I would recommend it for mature students.
I could see a school counselor using this book with groups to discuss getting help and opening up discussions on sensitive topics. This would be a good family read for parents to lead their children through the stages of grief or when dealing with issues of fitting and feeling comfortable with who they are, and their unique personality and physical traits.
The book is written in a unique way. The modern-day story is in normal print but there are lots of flashback moments and memories that are written in italics. Daniella’s diary is in bold print.
Of course, as a Christian, I wish that God had been a part of the story. Faith would have been such a blessing in all of these difficult situations.
I purchased this book at the Toy Maker’s Shop in the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina.
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